1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to head and neck support apparatuses, in particular support apparatuses to help maintain a reclining human in a healthful position to reduce sleep apnea and other sleep disorders.
2. Brief Description
This invention relates to an apparatus suitable for the prevention and/or reduction of sleep apnea. More particularly, this invention relates to a pillow which optimizes the user's breathing passageways by proper head, neck and shoulder positioning.
Sleep apnea is characterized by partial or complete occlusion of the upper airway passage during sleep while snoring is an indication of a partial occlusion of the upper airway. Obstructive sleep apnea sufferers repeatedly choke on their tongue and soft palate throughout an entire sleep period resulting in lowered arterial blood oxygen levels and poor quality of sleep. It should be realized that although the following specification discusses sleep apnea in detail, the present invention also applies to the treatment of other forms sleep disorders.
It has been found that the application of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) provides what can be described as a “pneumatic splint”, supporting and stabilizing the upper airway and thus eliminating the occurrence of upper airway occlusions. It is effective in eliminating both snoring and obstructive sleep apnea and in many cases, can be effective in treating central and mixed apneas.
The long term effects of CPAP therapy are unknown so it is desirable to find other less intense or invasive treatments. It has been found that CPAP induces patients to swallow and this inducement to swallow can be reduced by lowering the airway pressure or removing the CPAP treatment completely. In addition to the problems associated with administering CPAP therapy there exists the inconvenience and cost of diagnosis which is currently undertaken by overnight observation at a sleep clinic or the like.
Snoring is an indication that the breathing passageways of an individual are partially blocked and thus is suffering from obstructive sleep apnea. The partial blockage of the breathing passageways during snoring means less oxygen is reaching the blood system and thus there is a greater chance that the individual will be subject to health problems such as heart attacks, strokes and hypertension, all of which are related to the amount of oxygen in the blood stream. Sleep apnea, a disorder where a victim stops breathing hundreds of times a night, represents even a more severe health hazard which can lead to the above health problems as well as daytime drowsiness and even narcolepsy in the more severe cases.
The causes for snoring include, among other, tongue obstruction (hypopharynx); nasal obstruction (colds, broken nose, etc.); excessive soft palate tissue; pharyngeal narrowing or elasticity; the presence of enlarged tonsils and/or adenoids; and sleep posture.
As the problems associated with snoring and sleep apnea are so acute, various articles have been placed on the market in an attempt to provide solutions. These articles have proven to both vary in price, comfort and effectiveness. For instance, articles placed on the market to confront the problems associated with snoring include: (1) indicators which indicate when the sleeper has moved to his back—a position that leads to increased snoring; (2) tongue retaining devices; (3) elastic masks and splints to keep the mouth open; (4) various drugs which stimulate those portions of the body inductive to snoring; (5) expensive forced air machines; and (6) modified pillow shapes.
The foregoing articles known in the prior art have not proven entirely satisfactory to those suffering from sleep disorders. The inadequacies of the prior art result from, among other things, in their being either too expensive, too uncomfortable, ineffective or any combination of the same.